Dehradun: Keeping its options open in Uttarakhand, BJP on Friday said it would do whatever is in the interest of the state, be it forming a government or going to polls to seek a fresh mandate.
"We would do whatever is in the interest of people of Uttarakhand. If forming a government is in their interest we shall do that and if going to polls serves their interest better we will not hesitate from doing that either," BJP national spokesman Anil Baluni said when asked about BJP leaders issuing contradictory statements on whether or not they would consider the option of forming a government in Uttarakhand.
President's Rule was imposed in the state on March 27 after a constitutional crisis erupted with nine rebel Congress legislators aligning with the BJP in the state Assembly with an effective strength of 70 to demand a division of votes on the appropriation bill, a collective legislation on the state's annual budget.
Mr Baluni said the imposition of President's Rule in the state had brought major relief to people who had long felt suffocated under a corrupt government.
Hitting back at former chief minister Harish Rawat for often accusing the BJP of toppling a democratically-elected government in the state by "using money and muscle" to lure his legislators, Mr Baluni said the former chief minister himself was responsible for the mess around him.
"Rawat has no right to blame others for the mess around him. The entire country has seen the sting video in which the former chief minister is seen openly indulging in a money deal in a bid to buy back disgruntled legislators to save his government.
"He should not blame BJP for his failure. If his MLAs felt suffocated under him and deserted him, how are we to be blamed for this?" he said.
He also charged the deposed chief minister with bringing the name of Uttarakhand into disrepute which was known all over the country earlier for the innocence of its hill people.
"Ever since the sting video began being shown on the TV channels people all over the country have stopped talking about the innocence of the hill people," the BJP spokesman said.
Crediting the Narendra Modi government with laying a strong platform for the country's development, he said its effects had begun to be visible on the surface.
"The country's growth rate stood at 4.8 per cent when BJP formed the government at the Centre, it now hovers around 7.5 per cent.
"At the time of UPA, highways were being built at the rate of 3.5 km per day which has now risen to 18 km per day. We have set a target of making it 30 km soon. 12 km of railway tracks are being laid on a daily basis across the country under Suresh Prabhu which was something unheard of earlier," the BJP leader said.
"A strong foundation for growth has been laid in the past two years and the country is all set to touch new heights in the next three years," he said.
